New inquest date set for Wigan dad seriously injured in Tenerife

A pre-inquest review at Bolton Coroner’s Court yesterday (Thursday) decided the final hearing covering the death of 34-year-old Andrew Openshaw would take place over two days on December 7 and 8.

Senior coroner for Manchester West Timothy Brennand apologised to Mr Openshaw’s family for their long wait to have their questions about how he lost his life answered.

Mr Openshaw died in Salford Royal Hospital aged 34 in 2017, three years after he was flown home from the Canary Islands fighting for his life.

The pre-inquest review discussed matters of legal representation at the final inquest hearing, which witnesses should be called to give evidence and which should have their statements read and the exact nature of Salford Royal’s participation in the proceedings.

Mr Brennand said postponing the inquest until December was “not a decision that was easy, straightforward or taken lightly”.

He also promised Mr Openshaw’s family: “I will leave no stone unturned.”

The case is a complex one, with more than 40 witness statements assembled.

Mr Openshaw, from Westleigh, had gone to a stag do in Tenerife in January 2014 but on his first night there he was discovered at the bottom of an empty swimming pool with a fractured skull.

He was flown back to the UK after a campaign raised £30,000 to cover the costs of bringing him back.

He died at Salford Royal in July 2017.

A Spanish police investigation concluded that Mr Openshaw had dived into the empty pool.

His family, though, has always contended that the injuries he suffered were not consistent with the island authorities’ version of events that he had fallen.

Mr Openshaw’s relatives have also raised concerns about his treatment and care in hospital.

An earlier pre-inquest review heard that the police had concluded their investigation into Mr Openshaw’s death and decided not to pass a file to the Crown Prosecution Service.